XP3 Fall 2016 Series Preview

We are excited to let you know that our Fall 2016 curriculum now available! We have four new series for XP3 Middle School and four new series for XP3 High School ready for you to download. In case you haven’t downloaded your new series yet (or in case you’re not an XP3 subscriber), we put together a short preview video featuring some of our Fall 2016 series. We look forward to hearing how you use the curriculum this Fall to help your students dive in and grow their faith in the new school year.

Now that you have an idea of what each series is about, here’s a full description of each series we have coming up for this Fall.

YOUR MOVE (Middle School & High School) | July 31, August 7, August 14

Nothing can bring out the crazy in you quite like family. Am I right? Deep down you know they probably aren’t plotting to make your life difficult, but some days it feels like that is exactly what they’re doing. Maybe that’s why we tend to respond to our family the same way we respond to sports or a video game—we strategize. You make a move to get what you want, but your step-brother blocks you. So, you make a different move. And so does he. It’s endless. Literally. Because unlike other relationships in our lives, the one we have with our family isn’t going anywhere. You can quit a sports team. You can leave the marching band. You can graduate and leave your classmates behind. But your family? They’ll always be your family. That’s why it’s such a big deal that we figure out how to live with them now. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about how we live with and treat other people. And while it probably won’t help you figure out how to get your sister to leave the bathroom in under an hour, it can give you some real, helpful advice on how to make the best move when it comes to the people who love you and aggravate you the most—your family.

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY (Middle School & High School) | August 21, August 28, September 11

What makes you happy? Or what would make you happy? That’s probably an easy question. Everyone’s got something. We all daydream about a trouble-free life made possible by something: a car, a house, a boyfriend/or girlfriend, a spring break trip, or just a pile of money. We all have something that could fill in the blank, I’d be happy if ________. And, we all spend time going after those things. Thinking about them. Hoping for them. Maybe even praying for them because, on some level or another, we all want to be happy. But isn’t it true that even when we get what we want, we aren’t happy for long? Pretty soon, we start daydreaming about something new. If happiness is the goal, why is it so hard to hang on to? And what do we do when the very things we think will make us happy end up making us miserable? In this series, we begin to ask the question, what makes you happy? And, one thing we’ll find is that Jesus cares a lot about our happiness. Not only that, we’ll discover where we find happiness may be in a different place than we ever thought—having to do less with a what, and more with a Who.

NO FILTER (Middle School & High School) | September 18, September 25, October 2

Social Media is awesome. It’s brought us some of the best inventions in modern times. Like the selfie, or even better, the selfie stick. Maybe you’re a fan of the hashtag or the GIF or weekly holidays like Throwback Thursday. All of those were all made popular by one social network or another. And, maybe one of the best things these apps have given us is the filter. Filters are amazing. They basically change the way you see something in a picture. A quick swipe and you can instantly make your photo look brighter, dimmer, older, newer, you can change the shape of your eyes, change the color of your hair, or even swap faces with another human being! You know what we called that in the old days? Magic. Now, it’s just normal. You take a pic and you automatically start swiping to the left or the right to find filters that will make the scene better or funnier or more interesting. But in the process of posting our lives online, other things can get filtered too, maybe even things that shouldn’t—like how we see ourselves, our words, and even other people. When we can’t see a situation clearly, it’s easy to forget how powerful our posts and pics really are. Even though the Bible doesn’t say much about which Instagram filter to use or whether screenshotting Snapchat is actually a sin, it does offer a lot of advice that’s really helpful as we navigate our social lives online. As we explore what an ancient book can teach us about modern social life, we may just find God’s plan for us isn’t to use social media LESS, but instead enjoy it MORE as we learn which things are better with NO FILTER.

THE WHO IN THE HOW (Middle School) | October 9, October 16, October 23

Science is fascinating. Even if it isn’t your favorite subject in school, you have to admit it’s pretty interesting stuff. Believe it or not, some of the things you’re learning right now in middle school science class are things people have been debating for decades. And, if you’re a Christian, sometimes those debates can make it seem as though what you learn about science and what you believe about God are completely different things. It’s almost as if they’re on totally different teams! Kind of like there’s a God Team and a Science Team and eventually you’re just going to have to pick a side. That’s a pretty scary thought, right? But what if you didn’t have to actually choose between faith and science? What if the two actually go hand in hand? The truth is, believing something we learn in science class doesn’t mean we have to question our faith in God. In fact, science can actually point us back to God. And that’s exactly what this series is all about! We’ll take a look at some of the big questions about God and science and see just how well the two actually go together. When we remember to include the Who—God—behind the how—science—we’ll see that not only is science not the opposite of faith, it can actually be a catalyst to strengthen it.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW (High School) | October 9, October 16, October 23

Have you ever felt a little crazy? Maybe you cheer for a sports team that no one else likes. Maybe you’re the only person who doesn’t love the new band everyone else is talking about. Maybe it seems like everyone understands what’s going on in Spanish class expect you. When you’re in a situation where it seems everyone agrees or understands— and you don’t—it can feel like you’re losing your mind. You wonder, “Am I missing something?” Honestly, a lot of us have felt that way at church. We hear people talk about praying or reading the Bible in a way that sounds like it’s the most exciting thing in the world, except…for us, it isn’t. In fact, when it comes to the habits that are supposed to grow our faith the most, they’re actually the ones we want to do the least. And maybe that’s just how it is. Since prayer and Bible reading and church are good for you, maybe you’re just supposed to just suffer through them. But what if you’re missing something? What if the people who do these things just see something you don’t see? And what if a single piece of missing information could completely change the way you interact with God, His Word, and His people? Maybe you’d go from “have to” to “want to,” if you only knew.

AUTHOR

CJ is the Managing Editor for XP3 High School at Orange and one of the hosts and producers of Rethinking Youth Ministry, a podcast raising the bar for student leaders everywhere. CJ has been leading small groups for middle school students at North Point Community Church since 2007, which means he's probably spent more time talking to middle schoolers than adults in his life. He also placed 5th in his 8th grade class field day fun run. CJ and his wife, Teri, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, with their son, Harley, and their robot vacuum, Barbara.